‘Hunger Games: Sunrise on Reaping’ Casts Iris Apatow, Edvin Ryding for 2026 Release

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, a highly anticipated prequel film directed by Francis Lawrence and based on Suzanne Collins's 2025 novel, is set to release in November 2026. The story focuses on a young Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell, where each district must send double the usual number of tributes. Iris Apatow has been cast as Proserpina Trinket, a Capitol stylist, and Edvin Ryding will play Vitus, Haymitch's image strategist; both characters are part of the prep team for District 12 tributes. The cast also includes Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow, with Joseph Zada portraying young Haymitch, alongside other stars such as Glenn Close, Billy Porter, Elle Fanning, and Maya Hawke. The film aims to provide a grittier exploration of the Capitol's spectacle and trauma, blending rising Gen Z talent with established franchise actors to reinvent the dystopian world for a new generation. Lionsgate is banking on this prequel to follow the success of previous Hunger Games films and expand the franchise's narrative depth.